ROCKFORD — More and more in Illinois how millions of local taxpayer dollars, the long-term staffing of fire and police departments, and daily public safety procedures hinge on the decision of one person.

One example: Last week, a third-party arbitrator awarded the city of Rockford the right to reduce its staffing level at the fire department.

Fire engines will drop from four-man crews to three-man crews. Officials with the firefighters’ union say the cut will compromise public safety.

The first paramedic at the scene starts compressions on the victim’s chest. The compressions won’t stop until the victim’s heart is pumping on it’s own. The paramedic won’t stop as crews put the victim on a stretcher or carry him down flights of stairs. The practice has been that the second of the four-man crew puts an oxygen mask over the victim’s mouth and continuously pumps in air. The third paramedic starts the defibrillator, while the fourth sets up an IV and tries in a matter of seconds to learn from the family about the victim’s medical history — if he or she is a diabetic or has had previous heart attacks.

“So, which of those services do you not have to do?” Lt. Brad Walker, president of the firefighter’s union. “CPR you have to have, and absolutely compressions and oxygen and an AED. Basically, there’ll be one less person there during the most critical time in a person’s life.”

Balancing the sides

The amount of work in these emergency situations doesn’t fluctuate based on the available manpower, Walker said. Fire hoses still have to be carried, open flames need to be controlled and victims must be extricated from car wrecks.

Those duties don’t go away, Walker said. They’re picked up by other firefighters, at greater risk of exhaustion or injury, he said.

In his ruling, arbitrator Elliot Goldstein said he sided with the city because the union couldn’t prove that three-man crews were unsafe.

“If the union had clearly established three-firefighter crews were actually unsafe, as opposed to its proofs that four-fighter crews were more effective and safe, the union offer on this issue would be the more reasonable one, I am persuaded,” Goldstein said.

Rockford Fire Chief Derek Bergsten expressed confidence his department can still meet state mandates and the department’s response time goals with three-man crews.

“It’s still safe,” Bergsten said. “Of course, it’s always better to have more, I’d rather have five than four, and four than three.”

Page 2 of 3 - The firefighters union has had its share of victories in arbitration. They were given 6 percent raises in 2011. And the union stopped the city’s last attempt in 2010 to reduce staff.

In last week’s decision, firefighters lost the debate on staffing levels but were awarded the 2.75, 2.5 and 2.5 percent annual raises they sought.

Cities and unions across the state have become increasingly reliant on interest arbitration to solve labor disputes. Arbitrators have decided more than twice as many contracts statewide in recent years — 38 in 2012 up from 19 in 2006.

Many, like Rockford and the fire union, have started applying to begin arbitration proceedings virtually as soon as negotiations start.

Awards locally and across the state have been virtually a coin flip in favor of a union group or the government unit.

The Register Star reviewed the 808 contested decisions in Illinois that have been decided by an arbitrator since 2006. Arbitrators ruled for a union 51 percent of the time and for an employer 49 percent of the time, the records show.

How it works

Arbitration works like a pseudo-court system. In lieu of the right to strike, public safety employees — police officers, security guards and firefighters — instead resolve contract disputes through interest arbitration.

Each side makes its final offer on a contested issue. The Illinois Labor Relations Board provides the employer and the union a list of qualified arbitrators. The two take turns striking names until there’s one left.

The sides make the case for the arbitrator to accept their final offer. The arbitrator weighs the two offers against comparable contracts in other cities and internally with other union contracts in the city.

Most importantly, an arbitrator considers the offers against the status quo. The side that wants to change an existing practice needs to prove why that change is necessary. And many times, they can’t.

The arbitrator must pick one offer or the other, with no middle ground.

“That’s the risk of going to arbitration” Walker said.

There are a number of reasons arbitration cases have risen recently, said Melissa Mylinski, executive director of the Illinois Labor Relations Board. “In the past decade the number of petitions to join a union have definitely increased,” Mylinski said. “So, for one, there are just more unions.”

In 2005, state lawmakers eliminated size regulations to form a public union. That opened the door for many small departments — some with just two members — to unionize.

And in 2010, small public unions, defined as those with fewer than 35 members, outside of the public safety realm were given the right to use an arbitrator to decide their first contract.

Page 3 of 3 - Since both sides need to agree on an arbitrator the system is designed to police itself. The idea being that if one arbitrator seems to favor unions, for example, employers would choose someone else.

Decisions are published online at the Illinois Labor Relations Board’s website, state.il.us/ilrb/